1995 MF 240 4WD w/ FEL has steering problem

   / 1995 MF 240 4WD w/ FEL has steering problem #1  

scottyboy

New member
Joined
Sep 14, 2013
Messages
24
Location
Pelham, NC
Tractor
Massey Ferguson 240
I had been moving some gravel with the loader and was losing responsiveness and most control of the front end and stopped the tractor. There is a single steering cylinder mounted centrally on the front axle. The four screws holding cylinder to the axle had come loose (but did not lose screws!). So there was evidently enough force in the PS hydraulics to move the rods/arms but the flopping around of the cylinder made the steering a bit wonky. Anyway I re-torqued the four screws to batten down the cylinder but now the steering is still not responsive. I can turn the wheel and get some movement but it is like there is a lag. BTW the ball joints are quite worn. Additional observation...I checked the PS reservoir thinking I did not have enough fluid but it was completely full, in fact it over flowed the hole when I removed the pressure relief canister that screws into the top of reservoir. Any ideas as to how I should tune get my steering working properly again?
 
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   / 1995 MF 240 4WD w/ FEL has steering problem
  • Thread Starter
#2  
Hey Scottyboy here is what you need to do to fix this problem. I actually have the exact same tractor!

The loose screws holding the cylinder. Tighten them back up and forget about this. Not relevant to your issue for now. You are going to remove your steering pump. This is pretty easy to do. Place an oil catch pan under the pump. You will need to disconnect the two hydraulic lines from the pump housing first. This required a 22mm wrench with my set up. Move hoses aside for easier access and dismounting of the pump? There are only two bolts holding the pump to the tractor. Both are located as pass throughs on the timing belt housing. Both top and bottom bolts can be removed from the side with a socket wrench. Carefully withdraw the pump and mindful not to damage the splined gear as you remove it. Empty pump of remaining oil and discard.

Now you need to remove the housing from the pump. This is done by removing the bolt in the center of the pump housing. The housing has an o-ring seal around the rim. You may need to carefully coax the housing off with a screw driver and rubber mallet gently tapping evenly around the housing rim. Once housing and pump body are separated then remove the filter element and replace with a new one. I was able to get an almost exact filter match from a internet company called Stevens Tractor sales for about $16 delivered. I also found that my o-ring was a bit worn and the seal likely to leak so I purchased some permatex rtv ultra black silicone stuff to run a bead around the existing o-ring after cleaning and before final reassembly.

So after the cleaning and replacement of the filter and reassembly back onto tractor (all of the above steps done in reverse) I put fresh hydraulic fluid (Permatran or equivalent) into the reservoir (~1 liter). I then started the tractor to circulate the oil and warm it up before I tested the steering by turning left to right. Check for leaks. None. Stationary, I needed to significantly increase the engine speed to force the oil through the filter (about 1 minute). Then I drove the tractor and all was good. However the next project is to replace the steering cyclinder rods and joints as the balls are badly worn. Stay tuned in case your tractor needs this too!
 
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   / 1995 MF 240 4WD w/ FEL has steering problem #3  
Are you talking to yourself?
 
   / 1995 MF 240 4WD w/ FEL has steering problem
  • Thread Starter
#5  
IMG_3554.jpgIMG_3554.jpg configuration and hose connections
 

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